The chief doctor of an emergency substation was suspended for
"shirking his duty" and four other staff fired after a homeless man
died in the street in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi
Province, according to a report in Xi'an Daily on
Wednesday.
Dr. Han Shabin, 50, who was working at Xi'an No.1 Hospital, had
diagnosed the man as having hypoglycemia an hour before he died
without receiving treatment.
Han and his team had been called to Xincheng Plaza on May 17
after an emergency call at 10:45 AM reported that a man had fallen
in the street.
They found him dressed in rags, still conscious and able to
answer Han's questions. Han gave his diagnosis, then he and his
team returned to the hospital.
At 11:50 AM, the center received another emergency call, saying
the man was thought to be dead. The hospital sent the same group to
the site, who confirmed that his heart had breathing had
stopped.
An official at the bureau said Han had suggested taking the man
to a nearby hospital but the patient refused for fear of having to
pay for treatment.
The doctor has been described by his colleagues as experienced
and professional in giving emergency treatment, and they have
backed him in his diagnosis and claimed the patient must have
suffered a heart attack, although there has been no post
mortem.
Wang Gaizheng, deputy director of the Municipal Health Bureau,
has been quoted by local media as saying the neglect of homeless
people in emergency treatment is because they are often unable to
pay for their treatment and are seen as a financial burden by
hospitals.
A joint investigation by the provincial and city public health
administrative departments found that medical workers "neglected
their responsibilities; they didn't make any serious and careful
check-up on the patient; and they didn't treat the patient
according to standard medical procedures; consequently, they missed
the opportunity to save him."
The Xi'an Health Bureau suspended Dr. Han's license for a year
and sacked a nurse, driver and two other staff members. It also
fined the emergency substation 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) and ordered
it to stop business while addressing systemic problems.
The city's public health bureau has since demanded that
hospitals and medical institutions put an end to the phenomenon of
refusing to accept patients who are unable to pay for
treatment.
(China Daily, Xi'an Daily May 27, 2005)